In My Week With Marilyn, Michelle Williams takes on the formidable challenge of playing '50s screen siren Marilyn Monroe.
by Shannon Vestal
In My Week With Marilyn, Michelle Williams takes on the formidable challenge of playing '50s screen siren Marilyn Monroe. She proves that she's capable and delivers a performance that goes beyond mimicking Monroe; Williams creates a character that you appreciate outside of the real person. The film follows Marilyn while she was in the UK filming the 1957 movie The Prince and the Showgirl opposite Laurence Olivier, but the story is told from someone far less famous than those Hollywood legends. Colin Clark (played by Eddie Redmayne), a young production assistant on the film, wrote the memoir the film is based on, and the story — and impression of Marilyn — are all from his perspective.
The shooting of the film doesn't go smoothly, due to the difficulties caused by Monroe's acting insecurities. She frustrates Olivier, who is not just her leading man, but also director and producer. Marilyn needs constant support, but when her new husband Arthur Miller has to go back to the US to work, she has to find it elsewhere, and takes a shine to Colin. They become friends and confidantes for a week, and they're a magical few days for Colin. Though he experiences ups and downs with the actress, he still falls for the woman easily, in much the same way that I fell for this lovely film. To find out why I was so charmed by My Week With Marilyn, just keep reading.
